December 21st
by WitchOfDarkness13
Summary: It started in 1994, but wouldn't be realized until 1999. From a dance at yule, to one in the forests of Dean. Bottle green and periwinkle blue. It starts and ends with hello, but is interwoven with a promise. One shot. Not epilogue compliant.


December 21st 1994.

Harry is waiting for Pavarti to come downstairs. His foot taps a bit and he absentmindedly twirls his wand between his fingers. He used to do the same with his pencils and pens under his desk in primary school, under his desk of course so as not to get caught by the teachers, and the habit had transferred to his wand. He glances around and notices that Krum is also waiting for his date, the Quidditch player's eyes traveling to the stairs repeatedly as he waits against the wall. Harry is about to begin pacing again when he notices Pavarti on her way down. She's wearing a light pink gown with pale orange, gold, and pastel green accents within the fabric. Her bangles and necklace are also gold with a matching color scheme in the jewels. The only different color are the clear crystal pieces attached to the hair accessory that she's wearing. When Pavarti reaches Harry, he gives a smile.

"You look lovely," Harry says.

Pavarti smiles. "Thanks. Though you should wait and see who's coming."

Harry's bewildered by the statement and looks back up the stairs when Pavarti gives him a nudge. When he sees what she meant, his breath caught. She's wearing a periwinkle blue gown that seems to shimmer a bit as she descends. She's wearing a silver bracelet that curls up and around her arm toward her elbow. Instead of fabric straps, silver chain drapes along her shoulders and connects to the dress, holding it up, with gems sprinkled amongst them. The chain climbs her neck slightly and forms a bit of a necklace. Her hair is done up in a complicated looking knot at the back, but the front half is hanging down, framing her face. Since it's not all curled up and frizzy, it's obvious that the hair at the front is shorter than the rest of it, and she has her bangs swept to the side. Harry meets her eyes and doesn't even realize he's smiling until she smiles in return. She reaches the bottom of the stairs and seems to blush a bit as she walks toward Harry.

"Hello beautiful," Harry says, his mouth moving before he'd even thought about it. He feels his heart stop again, though this time in fear of what he'd said, but he's prevented from saying anything else by Hermione's return smile.

"Hello Harry. You clean up nicely," Hermione says. "That green accents your eyes nicely."

Harry's lips twitch and he feels himself blush a bit before pulling slightly at the collar of his shirt. "Thanks."

This time, Hermione grins. Obviously she'd anticipated his response. There's the sound of a clearing throat and she turns. Krum is standing to her side and he gives a slight bow before holding out his arm.

"I'll see you inside," Hermione says as she accepts his arm, and the two of them start toward the other two champions.

"Hermione," Harry calls. She turns slightly, and looks at him with a raised eyebrow. Harry gives a smile before saying, "Save a dance for me, would you?"

Hermione smiles and nods before turning back to Krum and starting a conversation with him. Harry watches her for a moment longer before mentally giving himself a shake and holding his arm out to Pavarti.

"Shall we?" he asks. Pavarti, who had been talking with Lavender, turns back to him and nods.

December 21st 1995

Harry sits at a table in the library of Grimmauld place. Luckily for him, the only people who ever come in here are Sirius, usually when he wants to get away from Molly or has reached the pinnacle of boredom, and Hermione, who is usually found within libraries so that's not too surprising really. He doesn't want to talk to anyone about his dream. He doesn't want to have them stare at him. Molly with her teary thanks and worry. Fred and George with their open curiosity. Ron with caution and worry. Ginny with her pity. The only two people in the house who didn't give him odd stares were, again, Sirius and Hermione. Another reason he doesn't mind them finding him here.

The door of the library opens and Harry hurries to grab the nearest book and open it, pretending to be in the middle of reading.

"You do realize that you're reading that upside down, correct?" Hermione's voice floats over to him.

Harry looks up with a sheepish grin. She's standing just in front of the doorway, an amused smirk on her face and a couple of books in her arm. Padfoot is standing just in front of her, his nose to the ground and tail wagging slightly. As Hermione sets one of her books on a table, Padfoot gives a huff and walks over, jumps onto the chair opposite Harry, turns twice, and then flops into the chair. He gives another huff before setting his head onto the arm of the chair, his eyes tracking Hermione as she walks across the room and sits next to Harry. Another huff, though this one somehow different in tone, and then he closes his eyes.

"Did he turn into a dog to find me, or…?" Harry asks in a whisper, his voice trailing off at the end.

Hermione gives a slight frown. "No. Or, I don't think so at least. I found him like this and he was laying on the second floor landing. I told him I was coming to see you and that perked him up a bit. I'm not sure what the problem is."

Harry frowns and furrowed his eyebrows. Sirius had been cheerful since they'd arrived, no doubt enjoying the company, so for him to feel the need to turn into Padfoot was slightly worrying. Harry sighs and runs a hand through his hair before shrugging. He can't do anything unless Sirius comes to him with the problem. Instead, he peers over at what Hermione is reading and has to hold back a chuckle. Of course she'd be reading on some obscure warding. Smirking a bit as he turns his book the proper way, he actually was reading it and had just set it down to think for a bit, Harry then leans back into the couch, setting his feet onto the table in front of him. They read peacefully for a bit, the soft snores of Padfoot and paper rustling as they turn pages being the only sounds within the room. After a little bit, though, Harry feels a slight weight on his shoulder and looks over.

Hermione's book is in her lap, still open to the page that she'd been reading, and her legs are curled up underneath her. Her head is on Harry's shoulder and her breathing is deep and even. Harry gives a soft huff of amusement before gently pulling the book from her hands, placing a marker in it, and setting it on the side table next to him. She really should sleep more. He continues to read for a bit, but his own eyes start to grow tired and then he too is asleep.

Sirius slowly opens his eyes and gives a yawn, his tongue lolling out for a moment before he closes his mouth again and shakes his head, ears flapping back and forth at the motion. Blinking, he looks around the room before zeroing in on the couch. Harry is asleep on the couch, slouched down a bit and his feet on the table in front of him. His arm is around Hermione, holding onto her lightly, as she sleeps curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. Sirius turns back to his human form and pulls out his wand, silently summoning the camera from the mantle on the other side of the room. Putting a charm on it to mute the shutter noise, he takes a picture of the two sleeping teens, and then summons a blanket and directing it over to them. It gently lays over them and the two seem to snuggle further into the couch, falling to a deeper sleep. Sirius smiles slightly before standing and heading out of the room.

December 21st, 1996

Harry loops along the field by the burrow and is heading back toward the house when he spots Hermione sitting on the wall watching as Ron, Ginny, and he fly around. He flies over to her and hovers a bit. He can tell by the smirk twitching at her lips that she's purposefully ignoring him. Harry grins, uses a charm on his glasses so they don't slip off, and loosens his grip a bit, rolling so that he's hanging upside down on his broom. Hermione's eyebrows raise as she looks at him.

"Are you trying to have all your blood reach your brain?" Hermione asks.

Harry ignores the question and poses one of his own. "Would you come and fly with me?"

"Harry, you know I'm no good on a broom," Hermione says. "Besides, there aren't enough for the four of us anyway."

Harry pauses before shrugging. "Ok, so you can share with me. I'll do all the steering and whatnot and you just enjoy the ride."

Hermione stares at him. Harry's smile, which had been wide from flying, starts to disappear as he thinks that she's going to say no. Instead, Hermione's just thinking of how wonderful it is to see him happy. Especially since what happened last June. Just before Harry is about to tell her to forget it, that it was a stupid idea, Hermione smiles.

"Very well. But let me tell you one thing Harry James. If you so much as try to attempt one of your normal stunts, I'm hexing you from here back to Hogwarts," Hermione says. Her strict tone is downplayed by her grin.

Harry lifts himself back so that he's properly seated on his broom and nods. Drifting down to a height that Hermione can comfortably climb on at, he waits for her to get situated before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her, his hands grasping the handle in front of her.

"Alright, I'm going to raise up and start us off," Harry says. "I'll keep us slow for now."

Hermione, suddenly looking very nervous, nods, her own grasp on the broom tight. Part of that could be that she's sitting the equivalent of side saddle, but Harry also knows that Hermione is an extremely nervous flier.

Everything is calm as they slowly drift around the field. Hermione's relaxed her grip a bit and seems to be looking around with interest. It's not often that she sees things at this height. As Harry leans to take them into a gentle turn, the wind gusts and he has to adjust so that he keeps control. Hermione lets out a small "eep!" before her arms wrap around his waist and her face ends up buried at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. After a moment, Harry has them back to the gentle flight they'd been in.

"It's ok, Hermione, I've got you," Harry says.

Hermione doesn't move her head too much, just slightly so she can peek out. She's relieved that they're much closer to the ground, though she doesn't move from where she's at.

"Promise you won't let me fall?"

"I promise."

December 21st, 1997

Hermione fiddles with the wireless, trying to tune in something. She hears a rustling outside the tent and tenses up, using the reflection of a mirror in front of her to look at the opening, relaxing a bit when Harry comes back in. She turns her attention back to the wireless and fiddles some more. She can't find anything interesting, so just leaves it on a station that's playing some classical music. Anything to fill the silence. She can feel Harry's eyes on her, but doesn't turn around. She's worried for Ron. Can't help it. He's gone off on his own, though probably back home, and she doesn't know what's happened to him. He could be dead for all they know. And what about the others? How are they doing? Are they all right? Hermione gives an almost inaudible whimper as her thoughts speed up and start spiraling out of her control, jumping from one thought to the next before the first is even completely done.

Grass. Wind. A slight hint of thunderstorms.

Hermione opens her eyes, wondering when she'd closed them, and sees a hand a few feet before her. Her eyes travel up along the arm and meets Harry's green eyes. He gives a slight, sort of sad, smile but doesn't say anything. It's obvious what he's asking her, even if he doesn't say anything. She places her hand in his and stands. They slowly move to the center of the room and begin swaying in time with the music, Harry more hugging her than holding her for dancing. Hermione is basically hugging him back, though, so doesn't say anything. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath.

Grass. Wind. Thunderstorms.

Her thoughts slow, her worry fades to the background, and some of the tension in her shoulders is released. She can hear Harry humming slightly to the music, somehow keeping up with it even though there's no lyrics. Her eyes drift closed and she takes in another breath, and is reminded of when they'd worked on the amortentia. She hadn't lied when she'd told the class what she smelled, but she hadn't been completely truthful either. She takes in another breath.

Grass.

She'd always loved the smell of the yard after her dad had mowed the lawn. She loved the games that they'd play and that her small family had bonded together over various activities in the backyard. She loved the openness that came with the smell.

Wind.

While she'd told the class that she smelled new parchment, which was true, she'd neglected to mention that the smell of wind, which she always thought of as a fresh if slightly cold scent, accompanied it. How many times had she sat in the Quidditch stands with her homework while Harry, and then later Ron, was at practice? It was unbelievably relaxing to do. Plus, she'd been able to keep an eye on the players as they practice.

Thunderstorms.

When she'd been younger, thunderstorms had scared her, like with most children. Her dad had sat down with her when she was five and held her while a thunderstorm was raging. He'd explained their importance and pointed out the beauty about them. She instantly fell in love with them. She hadn't been aware that when she grew older she'd meet someone who, somehow, held that same scent and dangerously beautiful quality to them. It may be odd to call a boy beautiful, but his soul was wholly beautiful.

Grass. Wind. Thunderstorms.

December 21st 1998

Harry waits for the Hogwarts Express, the snow drifting down around him and the other people on the platform. Mrs. Weasley and Bill and Fleur are nearby chatting to another parent, Harry hadn't paid attention to who it was, and he knew that Ron was currently wishing that he could be there. The train should be arriving soon, and Harry glances at his watch, checking the time, before glancing back to the tracks a moment before the scarlet engine turns the bend. There's a small bubble of space around him, so he's able to easily spot Hermione, who is chatting with Ginny, when the train stops and the doors open. Hermione is bundled up in a dark purple pea coat, her Gryffindor scarf, Harry's old Gryffindor hat, and Ron's Gryffindor gloves. Harry and Ron had sent her the hat and gloves a week into school, knowing that it would be awkward for her without them there and that she'd lost those items anyway. They went up to visit every Hogsmead weekend, where she would first hug them to near death, and then scold them for not going back for their last year.

Harry is torn from his thoughts when he's barreled into and frizzy brown hair blocks his view of the train and platform. "Hello beautiful."

"Hello Harry." A moment later and she pulls back, eyeing him with a narrowed gaze. "You haven't been sleeping well."

Harry doesn't say anything, just smiles at her and slings an arm across her shoulders. "So, you've a couple of options. Mrs. Weasley has, of course, invited us all to stay at the Burrow for the break." He pauses and hesitates before pushing forward before Hermione can say anything. "Or, if you want, you can stay at Grimmauld place. Either option is open. And I'll probably be popping by the Burrow often enough anyway, so it's not like you won't see me."

Hermione blinks. "Oh…well…I'm not sure…"

Harry feels his heart drop for some reason before he gives a slight grin. "Well, you're welcome to stay anytime you feel the need. Shall we head to the Burrow? I think Ron and George should be getting back from the shop anytime now."

"Alright. I'll meet you there." Hermione gives him another hug, this one less ferocious and shorter, before she disapperates. Harry looks at where she'd been for a moment longer before glancing at the sky and sighing.

After an eventful and loud day at the Burrow, Harry's glad to be in the quiet of Grimmauld place. He pours himself a small tumbler of firewhiskey and is sipping on it when the fireplace flares to life with green flames. He's not concerned. Only a few people know where to find him, and even fewer can get into the house. He'd been sure to put up some very strong wards when he moved in.

Hermione steps out of the fireplace and looks around. Her eyes are wide and teary, and when they land on him, her lip quivers just a bit. Harry's up and moving to her before he'd made the conscious decision to do such. He pulls her into a hug and holds her as she cries. After the worst of it is over, he moves them to the table and sits on the bench, pulling her gently down next to him. Harry waits a bit longer, allowing her to gather herself. He wants to be able to clearly hear the name of the arse that made her cry so he knew who to punch.

"What happened?" Harry asks once Hermione's gathered herself enough to be able to answer.

Hermione sniffles. "Ron and I broke up. We'd been a bit rocky for the past month or two, but I figured that it was just the distance between Hogwarts and the Burrow. You know? But we've also been fighting for quite a bit over quite a few things, and one of our fights started up again tonight."

"Fight about what?" Harry asks. He knew that they'd been having problems, Hermione'd told him as much in some of her letters, but didn't know the particulars. He'd told her that he would listen if she wanted to talk about it, but that he wasn't going to pry about the intricacies of their relationship.

"I still haven't found my parents and I was wanting to take a week while on break to go look for them some more," Hermione explains. "I'd asked Ron to go with me and he basically told me that he thought it was a fool's errand to look for them and that he didn't think even I should go."

Harry takes in a deep breath and lets it out through his nose, making a mental note to see Ron for a _visit_ after Hermione was back at Hogwarts. In the meantime, he conjures a handkerchief and hands it to Hermione, who dries her eyes and face before blowing her nose. He waits a moment before standing and stretching.

"Come on, we better get to bed," Harry says. Hermione looks at him with hurt in her eyes and her mouth opens as she's about to say something, but Harry interrupts her. "I need to get to the Ministry early tomorrow to tell them that I'm not going to be in for a week. Besides, we'll need our sleep if we're going to Australia tomorrow."

Hermione's eyes turn teary again, but she's smiling and she stands and pulls him into a hug. Harry wraps his arms around her and holds onto her.

"Thank you. Thank you for helping."

"Anything for you."

A week after they get back, Hermione and Harry spend time to settle her parents into a new home. A week after that, and Hermione is back off to Hogwarts. This time, she's got permission to leave the castle on the weekends so as to spend time with her parents and get them reacquainted to living in Britain. On her first visit to her parents' house, she's surprised to see Harry talking with her father. Harry ignores the question she sends his way regarding an article that had been in the Daily Prophet about him being seen punching Ron Weasley in the nose in Diagon Alley. Harry also doesn't mention that he'd cut out the picture that had been published in the paper and had it saved in a random photo album at home.

December 21st 1999

Harry fiddles with the box in his pocket, nerves causing him to question whether or not this was a good idea. He's got a plan though, and he wants to stick with it. He looks up at the sound of heels on hardwood and smiles as Hermione comes down, her bright red dress the same as the one she'd worn to Bill and Fleur's wedding. He mentally took that as a good sign as he held his arm out to her.

"Hello beautiful."

"Hello Harry."

They don't even notice that the Doctors Granger were in the room until the flash of a photo goes off, startling them. Mrs. Granger is smiling, camera held firmly in her hands, and Mr. Granger is also smiling. When Mr. Granger's eyes catch Harry's he raises a single eyebrow. Harry, being sure not to catch Hermione's attention, gives a slight nod. The older man gives a wide smile. The two men had come a long way since meeting in Australia. Then again, anything had to be better than Harry yelling at Mr. Granger for being obtuse and hurtful after Hermione had fled in tears from the verbal thrashing her father had given her for sending him and his wife off to another continent without even giving them the option. Funny enough, Mr. Granger had also said that was the one thing Harry had done that had shown the older man how much Harry cared for his daughter.

"Alright, have fun you two," Mrs. Granger says. "And please be careful. Give us a call if you need help."

Hermione smiles. "We will mum. Have a good night in with dad."

The young couple leaves the older couple's house and head down the street. When they get to an empty alleyway, they step inside and Harry disapperates, taking them to a little café that was in one of the side alleys off of Diagon. As they have dinner, Harry feels his nerves growing and then when he sees the journalists in the door of the café, he decides that this isn't the time or place. He doesn't want this moment to be ruined by the leeches. Catching Hermione's attention, he glances at the door, then back to her and tilts his head ever so slightly. Hermione, bless her, catches on quickly and nods. The two of them get up from their table and head toward the back, catching their waitress and paying before leaving through the back of the building. A moment later and they apperate into Grimmauld place.

"Well, that was going well until the leeches showed up," Hermione says. She'd picked up Harry's name for them and hadn't even tried to stop calling the reporters that.

Harry gives a chuckle and the two of them head into the sitting room. When Hermione sits in one of the chairs, she instantly pulls off her heels and begins to rub her feet. She's more used to heels than she used to be, but they still bother her after having worn them all day at work. Harry takes over and massages her feet, allowing her to relax back into the chair. Getting an idea, Harry flicks his wand and the wireless turns on, its music playing gently in the background. Hermione smiles at the song, remember that it was one that they'd danced together with at both the Yule ball and during their camping trip. Harry coughs, getting her attention. Hermione blinks and sits up slightly, her eyebrows furrowing at why he's still kneeling.

"You know, I don't know if I realized it at the time, probably not," Harry says, "but I started to fall for you when you came down the stairs right before the Yule ball."

Hermione smiles. "I'm positive that you didn't realize it at that point."

Harry gives a lopsided grin. "Yeah, don't think so, which is rather unfortunate, because then we could've had more time to be a couple. Things have worked out, and I'm hoping they will again. I promised you back in sixth year that I wouldn't let you fall. And I promise the same thing to you now."

Hermione's smiling slightly, but she looks confused. He can tell that she's wondering what's going on with this and where this little speech is coming from. He's never going to tell her that he had another one planned out, one that sounded much cornier and much less like him.

Harry takes a deep breath and pulls the box from his pocket. He lifts the lid and then glances up, nerves, hope, and love written clearly across his face. "Hermione, would you marry me?"

Hermione's eyes widen and she seems to stop breathing. Harry waits, his nerves starting to take a greater hold with the silence. It takes him a moment to notice that she's slid forward and is now even with him. She hasn't even looked at the ring. Harry swallows, expecting her to say no. Expecting her to say that she's sorry, but that she can't. And that's when she hugs him.

"Yes," Hermione says, her voice breathy. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes, from now until beyond eternity. Yes."

December 21st 2000

Many people were slightly confused as to why they'd picked today. Hermione and Harry had just smiled and told anyone who asked that they wouldn't have picked any other day for anything. The wedding guest book had four pictures on it. One of Hermione with her parents, one of Harry with Sirius, the one of Harry and Hermione sleeping on the Library couch in Grimmauld place, and the final one of the night that Harry had proposed a year ago.

Harry is standing up by the alter, wearing a muggle three-piece suit, his tie a bottle green. It was the same color that he'd worn to the Yule ball. A single white lily was in his lapel, held there by a clip fashioned after a stag's antler. His tie was held in place with a rather unique tie pin and pocket watch chain combination. The pin head holding the tie and the pin head holding the chain onto his shirt pocket had canine paw prints to them. He looked into the crowd and saw Mrs. Granger. She gave him a watery smile and nodded. Before he could look at anyone else, the music begins and the procession of bride maids and groomsmen begins. Harry doesn't really see any of them, his eyes pinned to the archway. When Hermione steps through, his breath catches and he wouldn't have been able to hide his smile if he'd wanted to.

She's wearing a muggle brides gown, but, rather than a veil, was also wearing a periwinkle blue cloak. She was holding a bouquet of calla lilies, which was her and her mother's favorite flower. Her hair is done in a similar style to when she'd gone to the yule ball. She blushes slightly, smiling at Harry.

His heart jumps into his throat and he's just overwhelmed with the love he has for this woman and the awe that she loves him just as much in return. Hermione and her father reach the end of the aisle and Hermione gives her father a peck on the cheek before stepping up alongside Harry.

"Hello beautiful."

"Hello love."

 **AN/ This oneshot is for Onyx Obsidian. I hope you've enjoyed it!**

 **Anyway, this is obviously AU and I hope you all like it. I don't really write romance-y type stuff, so I kind of surprised myself when this was the first thing that popped into my head. Anyway, let me know what you think!**


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